When Love Gets in the Way
by usernameunknown1119
Summary: As children, Aria and Ezra were best friends, but their whole lives are turned upside when Aria is ripped away from all that she has ever grown to know and love. Twenty-five years later, she comes back to find out why she had to leave, and they meet again but as different people (in more ways than one.) Will true love really conquer all, or will they meet again as strangers?


A/N: Ok, so I've had this idea in my head for a while, and with a little help from my best friend, I finally decided to put it on paper. Revenge, Pretty Little Liars, (or the current lack thereof), and the inner forensic junkie in me definitely inspired this story. The story starts off in the twenty-five years later part, and there will be several flashbacks, letters, etc. in order to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Oh, and the first chapter may not have a lot of Ezria fluff in it, but I promise that there will be plenty coming up soon. Hope you like it! (P.S. For any confusion on the names, Young Aria is in flashbacks, but her name is Autumn. Grown Aria calls herself Aria so that no one will recognize her as Autumn. Hope that makes sense!)

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Pretty Little Liars because if I did, Ezria would get a lot more screen time and fluff.

"Darn it," I mumbled under my breath, attempting to get the door to the house to open. "God, just open," and as though it heard me, there was a barely audible click, allowing me to finally open the door.

"Thank you," My voice echoed through the empty house before me. It smelled just as I had remembered- a mixture of the rosemary bush outside the window and a hint of vanilla. "Here, Jax," I called as my Siberian husky rushed to my side. "Lots of memories here, huh, boy?"

_November 15__th__, 1985_

_ "Dad, we're going outside okay?" I yelled to my dad as we made our way to our fort._

_ "Okay," he replied casually, watching us race each other there. "Have fun!"_

_ "Hurry up, Autumn!" Ezra yelled, looking back at me, just feet away from the abandoned house of which we called our fort._

_ "I'm coming!" I hollered back, gradually catching up to him when suddenly, he touched the wood on the fort._

_ "I win!" He laughed, clearly pleased with himself."_

_ "Ugh," I pouted as I slowly trudged up the hill, unwilling to admit my defeat. "Yeah, well you got a head start!"_

_ A defensive look appeared on Ezra's face. "I did not! I won fair and square!"_

_ "Whatever," I replied, slipping on a pile of wet leaves below my feet which was apparently amusing to Ezra because he could not contain the laughter emitting from his mouth._

_ "It's not funny!" I informed him with a chuckle as I got up to brush myself off. _

_ His face turned a darker shade of red from his uncontrollable laughter until he was finally able to squeeze out a faint, "Yes it was," and continue laughing._

_ "Fine," I mumbled under my breath. "Well then this must be hilarious!" I replied as I gently pushed him down, causing him to mirror my previous action and causing myself to laugh just as he had._

_ "Oh, yeah!" he spoke, pulling my leg, making me join him._

_ "That was low!" I responded as both of us began laughing, neither bothering to get up._

_ "Forgive me?" He chuckled, sticking out a lone pinky. I linked my finger with his and responded with a laugh, "Forgiven."_

After bringing all of the bags and boxes inside the house, I dropped my body onto the bed, letting out an audible sigh, but that was when all hell broke loose. Jax began barking at the sound of fire alarm blaring viciously in both of our ears.

"Seriously?" I screamed to the empty house as I picked up the closest thing to me which just happened to be one of my many forensic books that lay on top of a mountain of boxes, and I chucked it at the alarm. To my surprise, the buzzing ceased.

_You know what? _I thought. _Screw it._

"Be a good boy, Jax," I instructed as I grabbed my purse, ready to head out the door. "I'll be back soon.

"Welcome to Rosewood bookstore," an overly cheerful voice greeted me as I walked through the door. I flashed her a fake smile out of courtesy and slowly made my way over to the tiny coffee counter adjacent to the door I entered through.

"Hi, what can I get for you?" The cashier inquired, ready to take my order.

I took a moment to peruse the menu before replying, "Um, I'll take a caramel late with extra whipped cream, please."

"Alright, that'll be just a few minutes since we're having some issues with our espresso machine right now, but feel free to take a look around while you wait," The waitress responded.

I made my way down the steps and towards the fiction section in search of yet another copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird and maybe a Dr. Seuss book or two.

_L, L, La, La, Le, Lea, Lec, Led, finally-Lee, Harper. _

I picked up the familiar book and made my way over to the children's section and browsed the shelves before finally seeing the section dedicated to Dr. Seuss's books. As I made my way down towards the specific book I needed, I saw that there was an empty slot where the book used to be.

_ Oh well._ I thought. _It was worth a shot._

Just as I was turning to leave the aisle and get my coffee, I collided with someone, causing us both to drop our books.

"Oh, god," I started, leaning down to clean the mess I had made. "I am so sorry. I am such a spaz sometimes."

"No, really, it's fine. Don't worry about it," He replied with a chuckle as he bent down to help me. I handed the stranger the books, and as our fingers brushed against one another, a jolt of electricity jolted through my body, causing me to jerk away and look at the stranger for the first time. He had perfectly messy, curls, a structured face, and those eyes. I knew those eyes. They were an unforgettable blue that you could get lost in for days, but I couldn't know those eyes. It just couldn't be him. He had to have moved out of this small, uptight town by now didn't he? Realizing that we had been staring at one another for far too long, I broke our stare, blushing slightly.

"I'm sorry," he began. "It's just. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't think so," I replied. "I just moved here from Europe, so chances are kind of slim."

"Where in Europe?" He inquired. "I only ask because I spent some time in Reykjavik a couple summers ago. Maybe I saw you there."

"Iceland," I responded, fidgeting with the charm around my neck, "so maybe."

"I'm Ezra by the way," the man spoke as he held out his hand. "Ezra Fitz."

_ Crap._

"Aria. Aria Montgomery."

"Aria Montgomery?" He questioned in shock. "As in the new forensic anthropologist in town, Aria Montgomery? "

"Yeah," I responded hesitantly. "Why?"

"It's a small town. News travels fast here. Both good and bad, and right now, Miss Montgomery, you are the talk of the town."

"I see," I replied casually. "Listen, I have to go get my coffee, but thanks for the heads up. It's nice to know I'm not completely alone here."

"Anytime. If you ever need anything," He started before writing something down on a napkin. He pushed towards me and continued, "Here's my number."

"Do you give your number out to strangers often?" I replied somewhat flirtatiously.

"Well," he began, seeming to flirt back, "I wouldn't call you a stranger. I mean, I know you have great taste in books, you like to travel, and you're a total klutz."

"This is true," I responded with a chuckle.

"Plus," He said, slowly inching closer. "I'd like to know more about you."

"Yeah," I managed to utter, completely taken aback at the short distance between us. "I'd like to know more about you, too."

I hope you liked it! (I know that right now there are some loose ends, but I promise that they will be tied soon!) Any feedback is appreciated, so please review! It would mean a lot! Thank you so much for reading this!


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